Teaser Tuesday: A Veil of Shattered Dreams

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read

•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teaser comes from A Veil of Shattered Dreams by Rachel Stark:

I think I knew a little girl once, maybe. The inclination is strong, but an invisible hand is gripping me, pulling me farther away, and tugging on the pang in my heart. I don’t resist and wait patiently on the other side of the veil. And when it parts, the spotlight falls upon the face of the figure I recognize immediately, the pale, ghostlike woman seated across from me. (p. 3)

This is an intense psychological trip that is beautifully written.  The imagery throughout the novel is haunting and the twist at the end leaves you stunned and contemplative even after you finish reading.  Definitely would recommend this to anyone who loves psychological suspense novels!

Have a teaser for me?

Leave me a link below and enjoy your Tuesday! 

Yes, I'm still here....I think

Good morning, all!  Yes, I know it's been forever since my last post and I do apologize.  Things have been so crazy and then add vacation on top of that and it's a wonder I still remember my own name! lol

Anywho, I hope everyone has been doing well.  I had a blast in Arizona and felt as though I got my head screwed back on relatively straight.  Vacay was definitely in order for me.  Now I'm back (actually I've been back for a week but have been ridiculously swamped with things I've been trying to catch up on) and am ready to tackle my writing projects with gusto!

So, first up is The Butterfly Connection (The L & L Mysteries #4).  I know, I know, I've talked on and on about this book for quite a while now and no, it's still not done.  But, I am happy to report that there are only 3 chapters left to be verbally edited.  Then it's final formatting and I can FINALLY publish it!!!  I will be doing some major victory dancing when this book publishes!

Second, I have made some major progress on Starward (Galactic Dynasty #1), which is being co-written with my Muse (aka, the hubby).  We've had some major changes come about, realized we didn't have an entire book to write before the one we'd already drafted, and have taken several introductory chapters and added them into the almost complete draft we'd already done for Starward.  It's confusing, but in the end, this is going to be an amazing sci-fi/adventure series and Starward is going to be an awesome beginning to this series!!

Once Butterfly and Starward are off my plate (i.e. published), it's on to The Soul of Arial.  This book may be the first in a series but that's still up for debate.  I'm at the halfway mark on the first draft of this novel and look forward to diving into it some more once I free up my time from the first 2 projects I mentioned. 

So, with that, it looks as though I may have 3 books published by the end of this year...woot!  Go me!

As for the business, it's going very well.  Two of our authors have already published books in January, A Veil of Shattered Dreams by Rachel Stark and Naked Lady Dreams by E. M. Lohr.  Both of these books are amazing, so definitely check them out!  Aside from myself, we have two more authors who are finishing up their draft manuscripts and will be submitting those for technical and content editing within the next couple of weeks.  I'm so excited to see how they have fleshed out their novels...should be awesome reading!

Whew...so yeah, I've been a busy bee! lol  But I prefer to be busy, so it's all good.  I need to get back at it, so I'm going to leave you all with a few pics from Arizona.  I hope everyone has a great week and I will try my best to get back on here soon with more updates!


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Where Has the Week Gone???

It seemed like only yesterday it was Monday and I had a whole week stretching out before me with things I needed to do.  Then, I looked up and suddenly it's Friday!  Holy Crap, where did the week go?!

I managed to get a couple more chapters edited in The Butterfly Connection (The L & L Mysteries #4) before I got side-tracked with 101 other things.  And if I'm lucky, I may be able to move ahead with more editing today.  But I'm not holding my breath on that.

So what did I do this week to make it go by so fast?  Well, I published my Muse's 2nd book, Naked Lady Dreams, and of course had to tell the whole world about it.  *shameless plug: Check this book out...it's amazing!

I've also been prepping for a book signing that's taking place this Saturday (eeekk! Tomorrow!!) for one of Cressen Books' new authors, Rachel Stark.  She'll be signing her debut novel, A Veil of Shattered Dreams, at Beasley's Books and Eccentricities located in Charles Town, WV.  If you're in the area, be sure to stop by!  The photographer and the model for the book cover will also be there with Rachel, signing books as well.  So, this is a unique opportunity to get all three signatures!  Cool, right?  The signing is from 1-4pm.

I've also begun working on cover concepts for another one of our new authors, Jessie McClain.  She's writing an intriguing and dramatic romance series that spans over a few generations of the same family.  Currently, I'm working on the cover for the first book in this series, attempting to find the right cover design that captures the books' essence.  Not an easy task, but it's a very enjoyable one! :)

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I promise you that everything I've mentioned above has taken up the majority of my time this week.  But, it's all good, so I don't mind. :)  I love watching other authors' novels take shape and come to life!  Being a part of that exciting process is the reason I do what I do because it's such a rewarding and enriching feeling when it all comes together!

So, that's it for now.  I'm off to develop some more concepts and maybe work some more on edits of The Butterfly Connection.  I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend!

A Wild and Exciting New Year!

Wow, it has been a very crazy couple of weeks since I last posted!  First of all, I want to wish Rachel Stark a Happy Release Day!  Her amazing debut novel, A Veil of Shattered Dreams, (link is to Goodreads) is now available on Kindle and Nook and will be available in paperback soon.  So very excited for her!  And if you'd like to check out the first chapter, mosey on over to Cressen Books website.  There are links for the Kindle and Nook if you read the chapter and decide you have to have this awesome book right then and there! :)

Christmas was wonderful and I got some really cool "author" related gifts (a couple of tees and a long-sleeved tee with author sayings that are adorable and totally me as well as a HUGE coffee mug with an author saying on it too)!  So now I'll be able to dress the part of an author while I sit down to the keyboard and pour out all of these stories floating around in my head.  And the HUGE coffee mug will be put to very good use, delivering inspiration one steaming cup at a time! lol

New Years Eve was uneventful...the Muse and I ended up going to bed around 8:30 after a very long day, so we missed the ball drop this year.  New Years Day, we celebrated the Muse's birthday and I actually managed to bake a really awesome-tasting pecan pie, my first ever!  I was really excited about that. :)  I don't bake or cook, so it was a bit of an undertaking for me.  The Muse was happy, though, and so was I, so it was all good.

As for 2013, there's so much already planned that I don't even know where to begin!  I should have The Butterfly Connection, the fourth and final book in The L & L Mysteries, completed within the next month or so...yay!  The Muse will be coming out with a new book in the next few weeks as well.  Then we have our new authors, Jessie McClain and Jessica L. Padilla, that we'll be assisting in getting their novels ready for publication.  And of course, there will be trips and book fairs and other happenings taking place throughout the year...busy, busy!  But I wouldn't have it any other way.

And somewhere in there, I'll be working on the collaborative project the Muse and I are doing together (Galactic Dynasty series) as well as The Soul of Arial.  Whew.....I've got a lot on my plate now that I think about it! :)  But, I believe that's everything I can think of at this moment that will be taking place this year.  And I believe that's probably more than enough!

Did you celebrate Christmas?

If so, what awesome presents did you get for Christmas?

 

I'd love to hear from you, so leave a comment below!  I always respond back, so if you leave a comment, be sure to check back within a couple of days!

Provoking Emotions/Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

It spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

Just a heads up...this post is actually a mix of WoW and a regular post today.  So, those of you who are looking to see what I'm eagerly waiting on, please be patient as I do reveal it towards the end of this post!  What is written between here and there is actually pertinent to the WoW reveal!

As most of you know, I co-own a publishing company (Cressen Books LLC) with my husband and lately we've been taking on new authors.  We have three authors signed on with us now and one of them is getting ready to release their debut novel.  It's in the final stages even as I write this.

The reason I mention this is that I spent this morning editing the latest chapter in this soon-to-be-published novel.  And I literally went through 10-15 kleenexes while editing it.  It was that emotional!

Normally, when editing occurs, especially if it's more technical editing than content editing, emotions get turned off and I'm busy looking for misspelled words or punctuation problems or grammar issues, that sort of thing.  Can't get too emotional with that.

But, I also do content editing.  So to a degree, I have to read what's written in order to know if anything needs to be added or changes suggested to make the work flow better.  Even with content editing, I can usually turn off the emotional responses because it's work reading not pleasure reading.

Not today, however.  Rachel Stark, the author of this upcoming novel, is such a talented writer and I knew that this latest chapter was going to be an emotional ride.  But, I had no idea how Rachel was going to proceed to write it.  And boy was I in for a surprise.  Within the first two paragraphs, I was jumping up from my computer and fetching a box of kleenexes.  And the waterworks kept getting jarred as I continued through the chapter.

Now this book is full of emotion already, but Rachel has written it in such a way that it just keeps building and building until it finally has to burst.  And she manages it so well in this latest chapter.  Whew.  Now that's what I call provoking emotions in a story.  The reader knows that it's fiction but has become so emotionally tied to the main characters' plight, that tears or laughter or anger can readily be drawn from the reader as events unfold.

Well done, Rachel!

For those that are interested, the title to this debut novel is A Veil of Shattered Dreams and will hopefully be published within the first week of January.  It falls in the Young Adult Psychological Suspense category but is definitely a read that many adult readers will enjoy as well.  And because a cover reveal has already been done, I'd like to share the cover here with you...it's amazing and definitely fits well with the story:

Is that an amazing cover or what?  Rachel, along with two of her friends, one a photographer and one a model, developed this cover and I think they pulled it off beautifully!  And there's actually more to it but you have to order the paperback to get the full effect (hint, hint). ;)

And here's the synopsis:

Have you ever dreamed so hard it was real? A dream world that beckons to you, but is so fragile it could shatter with the mere thought of harsh reality. Katerina dreams of this place. But is it real or only real to her? With her sanity trapped behind a shadowy veil, Katerina struggles to free herself from its hidden secrets. But these secrets come at a terrible cost, a cost that may be too great for her to accept.

Does that synopsis draw you in or what?!  So, I guess in a way, this is my Waiting on Wednesday because I truly can't wait to see this book published and available for readers everywhere.  It will definitely provoke emotions and leave readers ultimately satisfied at the end of the heart-wrenching journey.

For those visiting today, if you have a WoW post you'd like to share, please leave a link for me in the comments below as I'd love to see what you're waiting on!  If you read through this whole post, thank you...it truly was pertinent!  And please let me know what you think about this exciting upcoming debut!